STS Methods and AI Entanglements

3 ECTS

Course coordinators and main teachers: Francis Lee, Ericka Johnson

Dates: September 16-18 Three days, lunch to lunch

Teaching methods: face to face, classroom exercises, ftf seminar & break-out room discussions

Venue: Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (see padlet for room)

Field trip: TBA

Limit of students: 30

Examination: Implosion presentation day three.

Link to Padlet: https://padlet.com/francis_lee_/sts-and-ai-entanglements-wniigansimap feek

Course objectives

The course gives an introduction to theories and approaches that are central for researching the interplay between AI and society. This course is based on classical themes and research in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and links them to Artificial Intelligence. The course is designed to provide ample opportunities for reflection and discussion of perspectives, theories and concepts in STS, particularly as they relate to the course participants’ own research interests. On completion of the course, the PhD candidate will be able to:

● Approach key STS theories and to examine empirical applications of these conceptualizations, especially in relation to AI;

● Discuss theoretical perspectives and concepts that can be used to understand “science and technology in the making”.

● Form a basis for evaluating the relevance of the theories in relation to the PhD candidate’s dissertation topic.

Course organisation/Instruction

The course consists of reflection seminars as well as a special seminar day 3 where students present their implosions (see examination instructions at the end of this document). As a rule, each regular seminar consists of three phases: 1) A brief introduction by the teachers in which the theme and textual basis for the seminar are placed in a broader research context.

2) A text introduction by appointed students in which two PhD candidates freely choose and draw attention to aspects / questions / problems / associations that have been generated by a careful reading of the day’s texts and are capable of sparking a discussion (presentation and discussion last ca. 35 minutes).

3) A continued seminar discussion and optional exercise to further explore the perspectives in question in terms of their strengths, weaknesses, methodological implications, etc.

Literature

The course literature consists of scientific articles and book chapters. The literature list is required reading. Course literature will be made available for registered students on the on-line platform.

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